Newly revamped street reopens at SF's Fisherman's Wharf

After six months of construction, San Francisco city officials are celebrating the reopening of a street in Fisherman's Wharf that has been made safer and more pedestrian-friendly.

A two-block stretch of Jefferson Street between Hyde and Jones streets now has twice as much sidewalk space as before, as well as a new two-way traffic configuration, new lighting and crosswalk bulb-outs to allow pedestrians to cross the street with ease.

Mayor Ed Lee, Board of Supervisors president David Chiu and other city officials are planning a noon ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate the reopening.

City officials wanted the project to be completed in advance of the America's Cup sailing races, which begin next month and are expected to bring large crowds to Fisherman's Wharf and other parts of the waterfront.

Even without the America's Cup, the city's northern waterfront is visited by an estimated 10 million people per year, according to the city's Department of Public Works.